Lack of competition is killing European football
When AC Milan and Paris Saint-Germain faced off at San Siro last week, they provided us with a spectacle to remind many of us why we fell in love with the Champions League in the first place. Sadly, nowadays that sort of night is a rare exception to the rather one sided affairs that have dominated European football over the last 15 years.
Why was that match so great? Perhaps the atmosphere of the fans in a decisive European clash, one that included a returning homegrown villain in Gianluigi Donnarumma. Maybe it was the contrasting tactical styles, or both teams’ fierce determination to win. Maybe it was the combination of all of that. But actually, it was for a much simpler reason: that match was actually competitive.
Both teams have different levels of resources, and different historical standing in the European game, but for one night, the gap between them wasn’t too big. There was no underdog and no favorite. It was an entertaining battle between two sets of teams giving their all, two coaches with different styles, and plenty of individuals with unique skill sets of their own. It was the match the Champions League promises but rarely delivers on in recent years.
If we examine how a normal Champions League campaign now unfolds, it basically begins with six groups already settled once the mini Champions League balls are drawn, leaving at most two groups with the potential to provide mini surprises. Then, after the first knockout round that is mostly a formality, two or three genuinely entertaining or crazy matches could be in store for us (and you cross your fingers every time that you’re lucky enough to catch them), while the rest of the matches are either one sided or just too bland, like most finals in the last 15 years, as the stakes are just too high.
But what is even worse to watch now is the domestic top leagues. If Bayern Munich is going to easily dismantle a Borussia Dortmund team 4–0, then what is even the point of calling it Der Klassiker? Bayern who, let me remind you, have won the last 11 league titles in a row, despite their best efforts in recent seasons to actually not to. Nothing highlights this more than last season when they managed to release their coach Julian Nagelsmann in March, go behind Dortmund in the standings, and then win the title on the final match day anyway after Dortmund somehow found a way to throw it all away. The mood in Munich must have been anything but festive with their CEO Oliver Kahn and Director of Football Hasan Salihamidžić already freed out of their contracts a day earlier. It didn’t matter that Bayern ended up winning the title anyway, since to Uli Hoeneß and Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, Bayern had already failed by allowing another club to compete with them in the first place.
The rest of the ‘top five leagues’ all have their own stories, and they’re not pretty either. The gap in La Liga, for years (circa 2008–2013), was so big between Real Madrid and Barcelona and the rest that drubbings by six or seven goals were a weekly occurrence. Manuel Pellegrini’s Madrid actually lost the title with 96 points, which is anything but normal. Seasons were basically built around El Clásico, as the remaining 36 matches were supposed to be a formality, which naturally made El Clásico the biggest event in football during those days.
Since then, Atlético de Madrid has joined them as a third top club (with two league titles) and the gap has tightened a little between the elite and the rest, but it’s still guaranteed that the biggest three clubs will take the first three spots.
In Italy, a country and a league left behind due to financial difficulties and a collapsing infrastructure, Juventus went on to win nine Serie A titles in a row, before self destructing and opening up the chance for others swoop in. Last three seasons have brought three different winners, but each have spectacularly collapsed straight after winning, mostly due to the lack of financial resources to sustain a prolonged period of success.
While in France, Paris Saint-Germain have won nine titles out of a possible eleven since their acquisition by the QSI group. Their rivals need them to absolutely have a horrid season in order to stand a chance of even competing.
So in that sense, the Premier League remains the exception to the rule, even despite the fact that Manchester City seem to always end up winning the title (five titles in the last six years tell their own story). Maybe it’s the Pep Guardiola effect? But apart from that, the Premier League genuinely provides us with almost weekly entertainment, as there are around eight to ten clubs who could, on any given day, compete with each other in mostly fascinating battles.
We don’t need to go far for an example, as just days ago Chelsea and Manchester City provided us with an instant classic. A week earlier, it was Tottenham Hotspur that faced Chelsea in a bizarre encounter that was both frustrating to watch and crazily entertaining in equal measures. After the international break, it will probably be Liverpool and Manchester City’s turn to entertain us. Of course, sometimes these matches deliver, and sometimes they end up like Arsenal v Man City, with two clubs battling for control of possession in their own box, competing to see which goalkeeper plays better with his legs. But in general, if one’s looking for a competitive match between two strong European clubs, the Premier League has become the place to look towards, rather than the Champions League.
Which then makes it baffling when people criticize the premise of the Super League. One overused phrase that we could all frankly do without is that ‘The Premier League is the Super League’. But it’s overused because it is, well, true. That’s not a stick to beat the Premier League with. Rather, it’s a model European football should aim to emulate — maximizing revenues, yes, but while also attempting a fairer distribution of resources. That ensures competition between different clubs isn’t killed off completely, and that clubs lower down the revenues chart still actually have a chance if they use their resources well.
The Super League was an idea fueled by greed, failure to compete with the Premier League, and a desperate attempt for disastrously run top clubs like Barcelona and Juventus to save their status at the top of football’s pyramid.
It was also rushed, with a terrible format, and an even worse PR ‘campaign’ (if one could call a hastily drafted statement and Florentino Pérez appearing on a midnight show El Chiringuito that). But at its heart, there was a logic behind it, sort of.
In many ways, the motives behind it were no different than the Champions League, or the Premier League, both created in 1992 with the aim of increasing revenues for the elite clubs.
With the way things are going now, one solution for the top five leagues in Europe seems in truly creating one joint European League, with the top 20 clubs in Europe ‘promoted’ to play there instead of their domestic leagues, and with promotion and relegation, of course.
So, just as an example, it could initially include six clubs from England, four each from Spain and Italy, and three each from Germany and France. That’s 20 clubs. If we forget the name ‘The Super League’ as that has become a major turn off, and call it ‘The European League’ for now, as a placeholder, would that idea still be so bad?
Then the bottom five from our European League would be relegated at the end of the season, and replaced by the winners of each domestic league for the following season. So what if, say, two French clubs finish in the bottom five and zero English ones? Then the lowest ranked English team would go down instead, while ‘saving’ the second worst French team in the process.
What about coefficients? Why should England always get six spots, one might ask? Well, ask no more. Coefficients should still be used (based on performance in knockout European competitions; so yes, the Champions League would still exist, but more on that on another day). So if one season England are supposed to get five spots (one less), and Spain five as well (one more), then simply the lowest ranking two English clubs would get relegated, to be replaced by only one promoted club. While no Spanish clubs would get relegated that season, and the Spanish league winner would get promoted regardless.
Ideal format? Hardly. Maybe it’s not even workable, but it’s an idea. Something to consider, or brainstorm around, as capitalism has certainly taken football to its peak, and then, as usually happens, way past that as well.
Personally, it seems exciting that instead of watching Real Madrid stomp Valencia 5–1, we could get to watch them compete against the likes of Manchester City, Liverpool, and Bayern Munich on a weekly basis. Internazionale’s coach under pressure after three defeats against Paris Saint-Germain, Arsenal, and Juventus? Well imagine what lies in store for him when they face Barcelona then Manchester City next.
There could also be a separate league, the European League B perhaps, for nations like Netherlands, Portugal, Turkey, Belgium, Switzerland, and Austria. The ideas here are endless, and possibilities plenty, but there is an unmistakable feeling that European football needs a shake up.
The reason many people loved the cup competitions (back when they used to be good), is not because big clubs could use their B string and still demolish opposition on their way to completing (now meaningless) trebles, but rather because in a one off match, anything could happen. That sense of a competitive chance made for thrilling, memorable nights, the sort fans of the game watch the sport for in the first place.
People are different, so I’m sure there are people who enjoy every weekend watching a super team like Manchester City, Real Madrid, Liverpool, or Bayern Munich dismantle their opponents with a 5 goal margin on average, but there is no doubt that the majority are struggling to enjoy top level football in its current format.
The savior for me in recent years has been in enjoying clubs that aren’t big sharks but are still big enough to compete (with varying degrees) when the stars align for them, the likes of (but not limited to) Unai Emery’s Villarreal (2021–2023), Bruno Génésio’s Lyon (2015-2018), Marcelino García’s Valencia (2017–2019), Vladimir Petković’s Lazio (2012–2013), Edoardo Reja’s Lazio (2010–2012), Siniša Mihajlović’s Sampdoria (2013–2015), Marco Rose’s Borussia Monchengladbach (2019–2021), Rudi Garcia’s Roma (2013–2014), Pellegrini’s Real Betis (2020-ongoing), Domenico Tedesco’s Schalke (circa 2018), and, believe it or not, Frank De Boer’s Ajax (circa 2011).
Recently, it has been Emery’s Aston Villa, Xabi Alonso’s Bayer Leverkusen, and Imanol Alguacil’s Real Sociedad. The secret is in discovering such journeys just as they are about to start, enjoying the ride, and then having the good sense to depart once it’s over. Case in point: Villarreal stopped becoming a must watch for me right about the time Emery left to be replaced by Quique Setién, and will duly return once again since Marcelino has been hired for a second stint.
Maybe one day things will change for the better, and European football will attempt to lessen the gap between competing clubs, instead of increasing it. Until then, the search for competitive football shall continue, with the hope of stumbling upon more beautiful journeys along the way.
